Pacers CEO leaving team after season

INDIANAPOLIS -- Donnie Walsh's career as an Indiana Pacers executive will end after this season.

He said Monday he will finish the season but would not comment on his future. He added the time is right to go and he has enjoyed his 24 years with the Pacers. That includes the last few years, when the team had to deal with assorted legal problems involving players.

"I'm completing what was my dream job," the 67-year-old Walsh said at a news conference. "I have loved every single moment of this job, including the last few years when things have been more difficult."

Team president Larry Bird will take over most of Walsh's duties.

Walsh had mentioned the possibility of retirement several times last season, and he was featured on the cover of the media guide, something many saw as a final tribute.

The past three seasons have been littered with losing, personnel changes and off-court issues that have damaged the reputation of a franchise that has taken pride in doing things the right way. The Pacers have the league's lowest attendance record, and owner Herb Simon said recently everything except the ownership was subject to change.

This year's team was weakened by a prolonged injury to forward Jermaine O'Neal. The Pacers (29-41) are on a season-best four-game winning streak and vying for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"I'm really, really proud of the way this team is performing even though they are a little undermanned right now," Walsh said.

Walsh started with the Pacers as an assistant coach in 1984, became general manager in 1986 and has served as president since 1988. In his years of overseeing the franchise, the Pacers reached the conference finals six times and won the Central Division four times. They made the NBA finals in 2000, when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, and had the league's best record in 2004.